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CARROLLTON – Sam Coonrod graduated from Carrollton High School in 2011 with lofty occupation aspirations.

“I’d love to play pro baseball some day,” Coonrod said as a senior after leading Carrollton Hawks baseball to a Class 1A state championship and earning Telegraph Player of the Year recognition.

After three college seasons with the Southern Illinois Salukis, Coonrod realized his professional baseball dream as a fifth-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants. Coonrod bypassed his senior year at Carbondale to sign with the Giants.

“It was not a hard decision because baseball is probably the most important thing to me right now,” said Coonrod, an honors student who plans to eventually complete his degree in business management through online courses.

Coonrod was the first Hawks baseball player to be drafted. And on Friday night, Coonrod became the first Hawks baseball player to have his jersey retired.

“It’s hard to put into words, honestly,” Coonrod said. “It’s just a great honor.”

Coonrod, 22, signed autographs at Carrollton High before being honored during a ceremony at halftime of the Carrollton vs. Calhoun boys basketball game.

Coonrod, a right-handed pitcher, will report to Scottsdale, Ariz., for spring training on March 5. He will learn his Class A assignment later in the month. His off-season regimen has included throwing daily, lifting weights three days a week and “eating everything in sight.”

Baseball has always been a focal point in Coonrod’s life. Now, it is his job.

“It’s hard to get ahold of that still,” Coonrod said of pay to play. “It is a job, but it doesn’t feel like a job, at the same time.”

A mid-90s mph fastball attracted scouts and made Coonrod the 148th player selected in the 2014 draft. In 15 games including five starts in the Giants’ Arizona League entry last summer, Coonrod went 1-0 with a 3.90 ERA. In 27 2/3 innings, he struck out 25 and walked six.

His first full season in the minors is expected to start in Class A at either Augusta, Ga., or San Jose, Calif. But his state championship senior season at Carrollton, his 11-0 record with a 1.35 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 62 innings will remain among his greatest baseball memories.

“That will always stick out in my mind,” Coonrod said, “no matter what level I’ll be at in the future.”